More than $11,000 was raised for the Joe Tiller Chapter of the National Football Foundation

Tiller took those fans on an unbelievable journey through 12 seasons. A Big Ten title. Ten bowl games, including a trip to Pasadena. He helped plan family vacations to Texas and Florida during the holiday season. Countless memories inside Ross-Ade Stadium. And several down-to-the-wire wins on the road.

The numbers won’t be finalized until after the season, but Joe’s items – personal and those related to his tenure with the Boilermakers – have generated more than $11,000.

The funds are being donated by Arnette to the NFF Chapter that carries Joe Tiller’s name. He passed away in 2017.

“It’s pleasing to me that this stuff had a place to go,” Arnette said. “Not that my kids would love to be doing this in another 20 years. It’s amazing to me how big this is. I knew people would appreciate it but not to this extent.”

Arnette isn’t sure what was sold or who brought the memorabilia.

His “stuff” was packed in boxes and Kelly Kitchel, a former offensive lineman who played for Tiller and is currently president of the Tiller Chapter, drove the program’s all-time winningest coach’s RV filled with all those items from Buffalo, Wyoming to West Lafayette along with his family earlier this summer.

The July 27 auction generated more interested than anyone could’ve predicted.

“I had zero expectations,” Kitchel said. “I knew people would be interested but I didn’t know what would interest people. It’s cool hearing the stories of the bowl trips and hear them talking about their memories. To our fan base, he meant so much to them. It was humbling and awesome to see the support.”

There’s still time to show more support.

Kitchel held back some of the popular items – picture of Joe and former quarterback Drew Brees after clinching the Rose Bowl berth and a black flag proclaiming the Big Ten championship and Rose Bowl berth – for online auction sales.

The Chapter is scheduled to auction off one item each week during the season, capped by Joe’s RV during the week of the Old Oaken Bucket.

The RV was Joe’s second after he retired from Purdue following the 2008 season. The first one endured a mountain of mechanical issues. Arnette made it clear that driving around the country in an RV was her late husband’s dream.

“The first RV was larger, and it had problems every trip we took,” she said. “There was something wrong. He would have guys come out to Wyoming to ride back with him and it was so horrendous. He was having trouble getting guys to come.

“Every trip, something went wrong. This one he enjoyed. It was smaller. I wouldn’t drive the big monster but this one I would drive so he could go in the back and sleep and I could get us to where we were going. He was good with that.”

Putting the memorabilia together and sending it back to Indiana was a walk down memory lane for Arnette. She didn’t have emotional attachments to all of Tiller’s items and didn’t know where a lot of the things came from or what they meant to him.

“The kids were with me for the initial sorting of stuff and that was very emotional,” Arnette said. “Once they got through and picked out what they wanted, I was left with the other mountain of stuff. It was a lot easier. I keep taking stuff out of the house, thinking it’s going to implode sometime and then I look at what’s left, and we’ve just barely scratched the surface.”

Arnette called the amount raised “gratifying” and is happy Tiller’s items have a new home with Purdue fans who clearly appreciate what he did for more than a decade and how he elevated the stock of the football program.

Arnette knew the fan base appreciated what Joe accomplished, but she’s not sure he did.

“We moved away, and he didn’t get that follow up feeling that he wasn’t forgotten,” she said. “I kept telling him – and I would be on Facebook or getting emails – but he didn’t realize how much he was liked and appreciated.”

Based on the outpouring of support at the auction and what’s likely to come, fans will never forget him.